Ambergris

"This is Ambergris!"

Nalant took a deep breath to steady his emotions, fearing that if he didn't, he might jump for joy and lose the dignity befitting a lord.

If one were to ask what was most precious in this fantasy world, it would naturally be the elemental sprites.

But if one were to ask what sold best among the nobility, it would undoubtedly be perfume.

Whether in his past life or this world, nobles possessed an obsessive love for perfume.

Of course, the primary reason in his past life was that Westerners carried body odor, making perfume a necessity to mask it.

But in this world, people did not suffer from that common ailment due to the existence of Battle Qi.

The true reason they required perfume was for the cultivation of Battle Qi.

Cultivating Battle Qi required not only meditation but also high-intensity physical exertion to temper the body.

Under such strenuous exercise, men might not think much of it, but noble ladies and mistresses were extremely particular; after finishing their training and washing up, they would spray on fragrant perfume to help them forget their previous disheveled state.

Furthermore, people in this era were not particularly hygienic; cities were essentially awash in sewage, with excrement dumped directly onto the streets, making perfume useful for purifying the air in their homes.

Even in Nalant's castle, though it lacked such stench, the servants would spray a little perfume every day to make the rooms more comfortable and pleasant.

Therefore, since even a lord as dirt-poor as Nalant was a user of perfume, it went without saying for those wealthy, old-money aristocrats.

In this world with its lagging technological level, perfume was extracted from flowers and plants using the most primitive methods, and a good-smelling perfume often signaled the rise of a family.

In the past, no matter how profitable perfume was, it had nothing to do with Nalant, but now it was different—he had obtained Ambergris.

Ambergris was the true "King of Spices"; whether added to perfume or used as incense, it was a top-tier treasure.

"My Lord, what is this?" Quick looked at the wet, foul-smelling, grayish-white 'stone' in his hand with some confusion.

"This is Ambergris!"

"Ambergris? Ah... could it be dragon saliva? And... it doesn't smell like anything at all?" Quick's eyes widened. Dragons were legendary beings, but this thing was clearly taken from the body of a whale... and although its name contained the word 'fragrant,' it wasn't fragrant in the slightest.

"Heh!" Nalant did not explain. The Ambergris was still in a damp state and even had a strange, pungent odor, but once it was dried, the fragrance would be intoxicating.

"Quick, take these two pieces of Ambergris back to the castle immediately! Also, bring the remaining two carriages from the castle!"

"And go to Wheat Leaf Village and have all the serfs come to Misfortune Village. Remember, tell them each to bring two jin of wheat!"

"Yes, My Lord!"

Quick took the instructions to heart and quickly returned to the castle.

Nalant, meanwhile, took his remaining men to Misfortune Village.

"Greetings, My Lord!"

"Greetings, My Lord!"

At this moment, the villagers of Misfortune Village were gathered at the village entrance, their faces beaming with happy smiles.

Beside them lay several small hills of whale meat.

Everyone knew that since the Lord had obtained such a quantity of whale meat, after their recent hard labor, they would surely be rewarded with a full meal, allowing them to experience what it felt like to be full from eating meat.

"Kenbi Cowdung!"

"My Lord, I am here!"

"Have all the villagers line up now to receive the whale meat, fifty jin per person!" Nalant said indifferently.

"Ah... fifty jin?" Kenbi Cowdung was stunned, and the surrounding serfs were stunned as well.

"What? Do you have an objection?"

"No objection, no objection! Thank you for your grace, My Lord!"

"Thank you for your grace, My Lord!"

Kenbi Cowdung shook his head like a rattle, thanking Nalant with tears of gratitude.

The other serfs were the same, and the thin, frail girls were even weeping with joy.

This was meat, and fifty jin of it at that!

In the past, other lords wouldn't even consider giving them meat; they were just thankful if they weren't being extorted and plundered like they had been by Anthony a few days ago.

"Hmm, but remember, this meat is being lent to you; you will have to work for me in the future to pay it back." Nalant nodded with satisfaction, though he needed to frame it this way to prevent the serfs from becoming lazy once they had enough food.

"Yes, My Lord!" Since they themselves belonged to the Lord, the serfs didn't care about whether it was a loan or not.

They worked hard every day just to have enough to eat; as long as they could be full, it didn't matter if they were tilling the fields or working for the Lord.

Soon, the hundred-plus villagers of Wheat Leaf Village began to line up, and one by one, they stepped forward to happily carry their fifty jin of whale meat home.

It must be said, although the serfs were thin and weak, they held the meat as if they were clutching bundles of cash from his past life, not feeling the weight at all.

"My Lord! The villagers from Wheat Leaf Village have arrived!"

About an hour and a half later, Quick returned, followed by a trailing crowd of villagers from Wheat Leaf Village.

The villagers of Wheat Leaf Village did not yet know what was happening, and they walked forward with their heads bowed, timidly clutching the two jin of grain in their hands.

"Greetings, My Lord!" The first to arrive was Pete Leatherboot.

Ever since his last audience with the Lord, Pete had felt that the Lord must be a benevolent noble. Therefore, once he received notice from Quick, he had done his utmost to ensure all the serfs arrived with their grain in tow.

"Hmm! Rise!"

"Thank you, My Lord!" Pete and the villagers stood up cautiously.

"Ah! Is that meat?" As they rose, their peripheral vision suddenly caught the sight of the several snow-white mountains of whale meat behind Nalant, and they were struck dumb, frozen like wooden chickens.

The shock was no less for them than it had been for Kenbi Cowdung and the others when they saw the 'giant sea monster.'

"Listen well, villagers of Wheat Leaf Village! The great Lord Nalant, in his grace, permits you today to trade two jin of grain for the opportunity to borrow fifty jin of meat!"

The guards, having long since received instructions from Nalant, began to shout to the villagers of Wheat Leaf Village.

"Ah? Fifty jin of meat?"

A clamor broke out among the villagers of Wheat Leaf Village. They had originally assumed the Lord intended to confiscate their two jin of wheat, never imagining he would distribute meat to them—and fifty jin at that!

As for the word "borrow," they, much like the villagers of Misfortune Village, automatically ignored it.

"Thank you for your grace, My Lord!"

The serfs, who had only just risen from the ground, once again fell to their knees in a flurry.

Following this, just as before, every villager from Wheat Leaf Village received fifty jin of whale meat.

"Ding! System side quest completed. Reward: The second Daughter of Misfortune is about to appear!"

At that very moment, the system notification rang in Nalant's ears.

Huh! It's finished just like that? Nalant was taken aback. He had originally thought this task would take some time to complete, as, under normal circumstances, an adult required one jin of food per day.

The meat Nalant distributed was only fifty jin per person, which clearly wouldn't be enough for everyone to eat their fill for three or four months.

However, Nalant was merely applying his own habitual thinking. How could the serfs of this world ever reach the dietary standards of his past life? Even on a normal day, they consumed no more than half a jin of food, maintaining a state of being half-starved.

Although he had only given them fifty jin of food this time, it was meat, which was far more nutritious than that hard black bread.

As long as the serfs took the whale meat back and dried it into jerky, it would be enough to last them for over three months at their usual rate of consumption.